Be careful citing the Brightline as a success. It is expensive, doesn't go to many places, has low ridership, regularly kills pedestrians and drivers, and is hemorrhaging money.
But, importantly, it actually exists and you can buy a ticket and ride on it. That's the bar we're talking about here. Not "did they make the best train line ever" -- just did they make a train line.
"Regularly kills pedestrians and drivers" doesn't seem like the train's fault. Railroad crossings aren't hard to understand. If you're a driver or pedestrian, best to make sure you heed the lights, gate, loud sounds.
Sounds like you haven't ridden it. It's the best train in the country. Sure makes you realize what train travel could be.
Ah yes, the train that seeks you out and kills. Much like all the free-soloists who are killed by the ground. Come on man. Expecting people to stay behind barriers and rail lines is a basic expectation.
Brightline has killed zero people. If anything, it has reduced ~150 deaths by guiding people to a safer mode of transport. Ridership has tripled in 3 years. Brightline is a private company, so you can be sure that they are charging a decent price for each ticket, and the demand is still there.
Brightline aims to make money by developing properties around this new value add (the train stations). They are making massive profits off their first few developments. The housing developments are owned by Brightline's parent company, so they don't show up on Brightline's balance sheets.
Trains are really unpredictable. Even in the middle of a forest, two rails can appear out of nowhere, and a 1.5-mile fully loaded coal drag, heading east out of the low-sulfur mines of the PRB, will be right on your ass the next moment.
